Opinion: What I Think
I would like to add some context to the May-June newsletter article on cottage clusters. A major problem with putting these types of developments just anywhere is the safety impact of multiple units with no off-street parking.
Case in point: the new eight-unit Mason Street cluster cottages in the 4300 block of NE Mason Street. Mason between 42nd and 47th is 27’8” wide. Two small cars on both sides of the street occupy at least 15’ if parked a legal distance from the curb, and at least 18’ for SUVs or larger vehicles. If vehicles are large or not parked close to the curb, fire trucks with a standard width of 10’ will be unable to get down the street safely. The addition of eight to 16 parked vehicles will leave few openings to dodge into to allow vehicles to pass. Mason will eventually need parking on only one side of the street to permit emergency vehicle access.
Portland did not learn from the experiences of other cities that tried this. Before the Mason Street project was approved, Berkeley, Calif., had already amended its similar program to allow off-street-parking developments only on streets at least 32’ wide. That leaves room for two-way traffic and emergency vehicles.
Other less safety-sensitive impacts were not addressed in the article.
Driveways of older homes are narrow. With vehicles parked up to the driveway edge, and more across the street, turning in and out of them is tight. The Mason Street developer reneged on his offer to paint curb cuts.
Waste receptacles for eight units will more than fill the 75’ frontage on garbage day. The developer did not follow through on plans for fewer, shared receptacles.
Some of the units are supposedly “visitable” by people with disabilities, but the bathrooms are not ADA compliant. The narrow winding path to the back units will make even visiting a challenge, especially in a wider wheelchair. That path, with obstacles set in the curves, will also hinder emergency responders.
Mason Street residents are trying to welcome our new neighbors, but this poor level of planning left us with tragedies waiting to happen.
Luella has lived in Beaumont-Wilshire since Halloween 1993. She, her partner Charles, and a series of feline supervisors have been slowly fixing up a now-100-year-old house ever since.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Association.
Editor’s Note
After receiving the above Letter to the Editor, BWNA reached out to Eric Thompson of SNUG Homes, developer of the Mason Street cluster cottages project, to get his response to Luella’s concerns. This is Thompson’s response:
Parking
- We were contacted by four neighbors following completion of construction who requested their curbs to be painted. We painted four (later he amended it to three) curbs at our expense.
- If there are others in the immediate vicinity (4-5 houses to either side of our project on either side of the street) that would like to have their curbs painted, they can email amy@oregonhomeworks.com. (Luella rebutted this; she said the neighbors have tried this, with no response.)
Garbage
- We built a dedicated garbage “corral” at the rear of the project and suggested to all new owners that they combine their accounts and share the service throughout all the new homes. We also had our condo manager relay this when the HOA was turned over to the new homeowners. We’ll ask the condo manager to send another reminder suggestion.
- Ultimately, it’s up to the new owners to execute on our suggestion, but we did everything we promised, including building the dedicated area to store the shared carts/bins.
- I take it very seriously when I say I’ll do something and don’t believe we reneged on any of our offers … and strongly believe that we went above and beyond what most developers would have done.
Additionally, BWNA invited Luella to its June 9 general meeting to present her grievances. The board is considering whether it will take a position on this issue, much of which is a result of state-mandated density that allows for no off-street parking requirements or City of Portland building codes.